U.S. patent number 4,466,135 [Application Number 06/428,924] was granted by the patent office on 1984-08-21 for bulletproof dress shirt.
Invention is credited to Edward A. Coppage, Jr..
United States Patent |
4,466,135 |
Coppage, Jr. |
August 21, 1984 |
Bulletproof dress shirt
Abstract
A bulletproof dress shirt is disclosed which incorporates the
following features: ease of installation, adjustability and
removability through the use of VELCRO fasteners; lightweight
design and removable bulletproof pads for ease in laundering;
optional vital area protection; and design resembling a dress shirt
so as to prevent other persons from discovering the fact that the
garment is bulletproof, which design includes snap fasteners to
permit attaching the dress shirt front over top of shoulder straps
attached by the aforementioned VELCRO fasteners, to prevent
detection of the shoulder straps.
Inventors: |
Coppage, Jr.; Edward A.
(Oakton, VA) |
Family
ID: |
23700991 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/428,924 |
Filed: |
September 30, 1982 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/2.5; 2/103;
2/115 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41H
1/02 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F41H
1/00 (20060101); F41H 1/02 (20060101); F41H
001/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;2/2.5,115,95,102,103,119 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Schroeder; Werner H.
Assistant Examiner: Kravitz; Judith L.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Sherman & Shalloway
Claims
What is claimed:
1. A bulletproof shirt comprising: a front panel and a rear panel
and connecting means releasably attaching said front panel to said
rear panel;
Said front panel including:
(a) an outer layer including means incorporated thereon causing
said outer layer to resemble a shirt;
(b) a middle layer including a portion of said connecting
means;
(c) an inner layer including a first opening bounded by first and
second means releasably fastening said opening in a closed
configuration;
(d) said outer layer being permanently fastened to said middle
layer at one location and said middle layer being permanently
fastened to said inner layer to form a front panel containment area
between said inner and middle layers accessible through said first
opening;
Said rear panel including:
(a) an outer layer including a portion of said connecting means and
further including third releasable fastening means;
(b) an inner layer including fourth releasable fastening means
engageable by said third releasable fastening means;
(c) said inner and outer layers of said rear panel being
permanently fastened together so that said third and fourth
releasable fastening means engage one another and provide closable
access to a rear panel containment area formed between said
layers;
Said shirt further including removable bulletproof pads, a first
said pad being removably inserted into said front panel containment
area and a second said pad being removably inserted into said rear
panel containment area;
Said front and rear panels being assembled to one another by
engagement of said connecting means in said panels.
2. The bulletproof shirt of claim 1, wherein said middle layer of
said front panel further includes a pocket formed thereon.
3. The bulletproof shirt of claim 2 wherein a third bulletproof pad
is removably placed in said pocket.
4. The bulletproof shirt of claim 1 wherein said connecting means
includes hook and pile type fasteners.
5. The bulletproof shirt of claim 4 wherein said connecting means
includes two pairs of interconnecting hook and pile type fasteners
on each side of said front and rear panels and further includes one
pair of interconnecting hook and pile fasteners, one to each side
of the area of the shirt where the neck of the person wearing the
shirt protrudes.
6. The bulletproof shirt of claim 5, wherein each of said hook and
pile type fasteners is made sufficiently long so as to permit
adjustability of the size of the shirt.
7. The bulletproof shirt of claim 1, wherein said means causing
said outer layer of said front panel to resemble a shirt includes
pocket means and a series of buttons appearing to protrude through
button holes.
8. The bulletproof shirt of claim 1 wherein said first, second,
third and fourth releasable fastening means comprise hook and pile
type fasteners.
9. The bulletproof shirt of claim 1 wherein said one location where
said outer layer of said front panel is permanently fastened to
said middle layer of said front panel comprises side portions of
said outer and middle layers and further wherein said outer and
middle layers are removably attached to one another at top portions
thereof.
10. The bulletproof shirt of claim 9 wherein snap fasteners
removably attach said top portions together.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a bullet proof dress shirt useful in
protecting the torso of a man or woman, particularly those persons
engaged in military or law enforcement activities.
Prior bullet proof garments, while showing effectiveness against
penetration of bullets, have been beset with problems of fit and
comfort. Just as troublesome has been the problem of bulkiness in
prior designs which has made it quite difficult to conceal the fact
that one is wearing a bullet proof garment. The following patents
are good examples of the problems attendant in prior art
designs:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,464 to Roggin which shows a bullet proof
vest with hook and pile connections on each side to allow easy
fastening but lacks any adjustment in the shoulder-neck area, and
is quite bulky and uncomfortable to wear.
2. U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,275 to Blauer which shows a vest in which
the front portion is composed of two parts releasably connected
with hook and pile fasteners but lacks any adjustability in the
neck area, utilizes uncomfortable elastic bands 42, 44 to conform
to the user and does not include removable bullet proof pads or
resemble a shirt.
3. U.S. Pat. No. 3,803,639 to Cohen which shows adjusting clasps 10
and 12 which are quite cumbersome to adjust and/or release.
4. U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,097 to Mellian discloses a body armor
garment for women which has a very stiff back plate as well as hook
and pile fasteners 29, 30 enabling the armor panels to be removed.
Its major shortcomings include the fact that it is worn under the
clothing and doesn't resemble an ordinary shirt or blouse.
5. U.S. Pat. No. 3,557,384 to Barron et al shows an armored vest
which is disclosed as weighing "in excess of 20 lbs." and as such
must be assumed to have never contemplated the concept of a
lightweight bulletproof dress shirt.
6. U.S. Pat. No. 3,452,362 to Korolick et al is similar to Barron
et al in that it discloses a heavy cumbersome vest which is
designed with no regard for use as a lightweight dress shirt.
7. U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,297 to Atkins which shows a bullet resistant
shirt-like garment. The front receptable for the ballistic panel is
formed by two portions on opposite sides of button fasteners 8
which overlap when the shirt is buttoned to form the entire
receptable. This construction is awkward in that it is difficult to
insert the front ballistic panel when the shirt is unbuttoned and
equally difficult to do so when the shirt is buttoned up while
being worn.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The bulletproof dress shirt of the present invention overcomes the
above noted deficiencies in the prior art garments through its
unique combination of the following features:
1. Hook and pile fasteners connect the front of the shirt to the
back of the shirt, both on the sides, and at the area of the neck
and shoulders to make it more easily adaptable to different sized
individuals.
2. The front of the shirt is made to resemble a dress shirt, and
when worn over a standard dress shirt with the collar and necktie
from the standard dress shirt protruding over the invention, the
invention blends into the ensemble so as to become an integral part
thereof.
The invention is made of a standard lightweight dress shirt
material such as oxford cloth, and as such, is a comfortable
article of apparel.
4. The invention incorporates integral closable pockets in the
front and back of the shirt which retain in position removable
bulletproof pads made of a material consisting of a series of
layers of fabric made of aramid polymer yarn, preferably a fabric
known by the trademark KEVLAR and manufactured by E. I. duPont de
Nemours and Company.
5. The front of the shirt may also include an additional layer of
fabric which includes a pocket adapted to enclose an optional
bulletproof "vital area pad", the orientation and location of which
may be adjusted for a particular situation.
6. All bulletproof pads are removable so that the shirt may be
laundered routinely.
7. The separability of the front and back of the shirt enables
substitution of different front portions of diverse colors, styles,
etc.
8. The invention incorporates a method of attaching and unattaching
the dress front layer to the middle layer of the vest by means of
snap fasteners which permit the shirt to be fastened over the
shoulders by straps while hiding the straps from view underneath
the attachable dress shirt front.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1 and 2 show front and rear views, respectively, of the outer
layer of the front panel of the shirt.
FIGS. 3 and 4 show front and rear views, respectively, of the
middle layer of the front panel of the shirt.
FIGS. 5 and 6 show front and rear views, respectively, of inner
layer of the front panel of the shirt.
FIGS. 7 and 8 show front and rear views, respectively, of the outer
layer of the rear panel of the shirt.
FIGS. 9 and 10 show front and rear views, respectively, of the
inner layer of the rear panel of the shirt.
FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 show, respectively, the front, rear and "vital
area" bulletproof pads.
FIG. 14 shows a view taken along line 14--14' of FIGS. 1, 3 and 5
showing the pads of FIGS. 11 and 13 in place in the assembled front
panel.
FIG. 15 shows a view taken along line 15--15' of FIGS. 7 and 9
showing the pad of FIG. 12 in place on the assembled shirt.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIGS. 1-6, it is apparent that the front panel of the
shirt is formed in three layers 10, 20 and 30. The outer layer 10
is that layer of the shirt that will be visible on the wearer.
Layer 10 includes buttons 12, a pocket 14 and areas of stitching 16
which attach the layer 10 to the layer 20. In the preferred
embodiment, the buttons appear to be retained by button hole (not
shown), but the portion 18 of the shirt does not open; it is merely
designed to give the appearance of a buttoning dress shirt. The
pocket 14 is functional, however, and may be used by the wearer to
store miscellaneous items.
Middle layer 20 includes stitching areas 22 which attach the middle
layer to the front layer and stitching areas 24 which attach the
middle layer to the inner layer 30. Referring particularly to FIG.
3, hook and pile fastening material 21, 23, 25 is attached to the
front of the middle layer for a purpose to be described
hereinafter. FIG. 4 shows the back of the middle layer 20 which
includes an optional pocket 26 sewn thereon by stitching 28. The
size and orientation of pocket 26 may be varied as desired for
particular individuals' individual requirements. Referring back to
FIGS. 2 and 3, mating snap fasteners 13,13' are provided on outer
and middle layers 10,20 for a purpose to be described
hereinafter.
Referring to FIGS. 5-6, the inner layer 30 of the front panel is
shown. The inner layer 30 includes stitching 32 which attaches the
inner layer 30 to the middle layer 20 and hook and pile fastening
means 34,36 to close an opening 37.
The front panel is assembled by stitching the stitching areas 12,
22, 24, 32 together as described above. When assembled, the middle
and inner layers form a front panel containment area accessible by
the noted opening in the inner layer.
FIGS. 7-10 depict the outer and inner layers of the rear panel of
the shirt.
Referring specifically to FIGS. 7-8, the outer layer 40 of the rear
panel is shown. The outer layer 40 includes hook and pile type
fasteners 41, 43, 45 for a purpose to be described hereinafter.
Stitching 42 is provided to enable attachment of the outer layer to
the inner layer. Hook and pile fastening material 44 is attached to
the back of the outer layer as is a label 46 listing washing
instructions.
Referring to FIGS. 9-10, the inner layer 50 of the rear panel
includes stitching 52 to enable attachment of the inner layer 50 to
the outer layer 40 and hook and pile fastening material 54 attached
to the front thereof and located so as to mate with hook and pile
fastening material 44.
The rear panel is assembled by stitching the stitching areas 42, 52
together as described above. When assembled, the inner and outer
layers form a rear panel containment area accessible by separating
the hook and pile fasteners 44, 54.
Referring to FIGS. 11, 12 and 13, the bulletproof pads 60, 70 and
80 are shown. These pads are preferably made of a series of layers
of fabric made of aramid polymer yarn, preferably a fabric known by
the trademark KEVLAR and manufactured by E. I. DuPont de Nemours
and Company. Pad 60 is inserted into the front panel containment
area through the opening 37 defined by the fastening means 34, 36;
pad 70 is inserted into the rear panel containment area through the
opening defined by fastening means 44, 54. If desired, vital area
pad 80 may be inserted into pocket 26 to provide additional
protection.
In the preferred embodiment, the hook and pile fastening means
described above comprise a material sold under the trademark
VELCRO. The separate hook and pile portions of the VELCRO fastener
may be placed, as desired, on either of the two elements which are
being fastened together.
The front panel is attached to the rear panel in the following
manner: snaps 13, 13' are unfastened and with the inner layer of
the rear panel facing the inner layer of the front panel, the hook
and pile fasteners of the front and rear panels are connected
together with fasteners 21 connected to fasteners 41, fasteners 23
connected to fasteners 43 and fasteners 25 connected to fasteners
45. Each of the fasteners is made longer than would ordinarily be
necessary to retain the panels together so that adjustability of
the fit of the shirt is possible. After the fasteners 25, 45 are
connected, snaps 13,13' are fastened
If it is desired that the garment be laundered, the pads 60, 70 and
80 are removed and the shirt is laundered following the
instructions on label 46.
The owner of the shirt may own several different front panels of
diverse colors, styles, etc. so that the protection from attack as
well as esthetic satisfaction may be achieved.
It will be understood that various changes in the details,
materials and arrangements of parts which have been herein
described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the
invention may be made by those skilled in the art, and that it is
intended that the invention be limited only by the limitations of
the following claims.
* * * * *